What you need to know
The drive among Irish consumers to improve their diets and overall health has helped to boost the usage of fruit and vegetables in both NI and RoI – with produce dubbed as ‘superfoods’ seeing sales improve drastically during 2015.
However, many consumers still struggle to reach their five-a-day, pointing to a need for more guidance on portion sizes and products that make meeting this requirement easier for consumers.
Issues covered in this report
This report covers the NI and RoI retail market for fruit and vegetables. Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) unless stated otherwise.
The following types of fruit and vegetables are examined within this report:
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Sold loose or prepacked and including pre-prepared produce and salad vegetables.
For the purposes of this report, prepacked salads refers to mixed and single-leaf salads in bags, bowls and trays which may contain small amounts of other salad vegetables such as carrot, beetroot or cabbage. It also includes unwashed bagged salads. Salad bowls includes leaf-based salads in trays and bowls which also contain protein and may be sold with a fork, and are also included.
However, specifically excluded are prepacked, dressed salads such as coleslaw, potato salad, prawn salad, couscous etc.
Frozen fruit and vegetables
Frozen vegetables include varieties such as peas, beans, sweetcorn and broccoli, as well as mixes of vegetables.
Frozen fruit is an emerging market. To date the sector consists mainly of soft berry fruits and mixes.
Canned/ambient fruit and vegetables
Canned vegetables encompass all tinned vegetables including baked beans and other shelf-stable formats such as snap pots, pouches, cartons and jars.
Baked beans are included.
Canned and other ambient fruit, whether incorporating syrup or fruit juice, in cans, cartons, pots and jars, are included.
Dried fruit
Dried fruit are defined as tree fruits (eg prunes, apricots, dates and figs), vine fruits packaged for snacking (eg raisins), mixed fruit packs, moist, partially rehydrated products and flavoured fruit pieces. These definitions have been used as the basis for market size figures.
It should be noted that products not specifically targeted at the snacking sector, but which are normally stocked alongside home baking goods (eg larger pack sizes of dried fruit), are included as they may also be used for snacking purposes. Such products are exempt from VAT.
Potatoes in all forms
Fresh bagged and loose potatoes, chilled prepared potatoes (such as mash, wedges etc), canned, dehydrated or frozen (chips, waffles, shaped items and roast potatoes) are included.
Excluded
Mixed vegetables including meat.
Fruit bars.
Prepared dishes which combine vegetables and protein or carbohydrates.
